New York Ag Subpoenas Airbnb In ‘bad Actors’ Battle

New York punishes hedge fund manager Falcone; consumers cut back on credit cards

His wife said he is paralyzed. The other biker who turned himself in, Reginald Chance, is also suspected in the beating of driver Alexian Lien. Police identified the 37-year-old Chance as the man seen in the video pounding his shiny helmet against the SUV. Chance appeared for arraignment Sunday and was charged with first-degree assault and gang assault, both felonies; unlawful imprisonment; criminal possession of a weapon and criminal mischief, according to court papers. His bail was set at $75,000 cash or $100,000 if secured by property, and his next court appearance was set for October 11. Chance’s lawyer, Gregory Watts, said his client didn’t take part in the beating. He said Chance and Mieses are also victims in the case, and he urged prosecutors to call a grand jury to investigate Lien. “We concede the criminal mischief,” Watts said. “It’s obvious that he overreacted. But the law does permit someone who is a victim of an accident to at least attempt to get the identification of the motorist. My client obviously overreacted in that manner, but he is not this thug assaulting someone who’s harmless, contrary to the public opinion that’s being put out there.” Biker: SUV driver ‘was a maniac’ Biker: SUV driver ‘was a maniac’ Lien was in his Range Rover on his way back from an outing to celebrate his wedding anniversary with his wife and their 2-year-old daughter. Dozens of bikers swarmed past him on Manhattan’s West Side Highway. A cycle quickly slowed down in front of Lien, who bumped its rear tire, slightly injuring rider Christopher Cruz. Lien pulled to a stop, and angry bikers surrounded his vehicle, hitting it and spiking its tires, police said. Lien stepped on the gas, plowing into three more bikers, including Mieses, who was critically injured.

#nyj Manish Mehta (@MMehtaNYDN) October 8, 2013 As of this writing, the Jets have no practiced yet so it is difficult to determine if they will try to bring Santonio Holmes back this week or allow him another week to treat his pulled hamstring. The good news is that all three running backs, Mike Goodson, Bilal Powell and Chris Ivory, all looked healthy for the first time all season. The Jets now have the stable of running backs that they envisioned having when they acquired Goodson and Ivory in the spring. What Must Improve: Defend the Middle The Jets defense made a handful of “splash” plays to keep the score down just enough, but they were victimized far too often in the middle of the field, specifically by Tony Gonzalez. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images During the first four games, it was the Jets’ cornerbacks that were often victimized in coverage. Antonio Cromartie struggled while dealing with a lame hip, as he is the 98th-ranked cornerback in ProFootballFocus.com’s rankings . Meanwhile, Dee Milliner played poorly enough to lose his job by the middle of the second game. However, that was not the story of Monday night’s game against the Falcons . The Jets were content with leaving their cornerbacks in single coverage against the Falcons’ elite wide receivers, with some success. Instead, the Falcons chose to attack the middle of the fieldoccupied by safeties and linebackersto generate most of their offense. Thanks to some quality throws from Matt Ryan and Tony Gonzalez being his usual, uncoverable self, the Jets simply had no answer for the Falcons’ approach. All of the Jets’ linebackers and safeties that were used significantly in coverage gave up gaudy numbers in the passing game: Linebacker and Safety Coverage in Week 5 Player 118.8 https://www.profootballfocus.com/data/gstats.php?tab=by_team&season=2013&gameid=2818&teamid=22&stats=v&playerid= These stats don’t include the illegal contact and pass interference penalties that cost the Jets multiple touchdowns in the red zone. Before Monday’s game, tight ends have not been a significant problem for the Jets, but they have not exactly faced a murder’s row of hybrid pass-catchers. The best tight end the Jets have faced before Week 5 was Scott Chandler, who caught five passes for 79 yards and a touchdown. The good news is that the Jets don’t play against Tony Gonzalez every week, but there is no doubt that every team on their schedule will take notice of their vulnerability over the middle of the field and attack it until the Jets prove that they can stop it. What Must Improve: Run Blocking Scott Cunningham/Getty Images The Jets may have averaged 5.4 yards per carry on Monday night, but the statistic is misleading. 21 yards came from a few Geno Smith scrambles, while most of the yards gained by the running backs were created because the runner created yards on their own. According to Pro Football Focus , the Jets racked up 65 yards after contact between Mike Goodson, Bilal Powell and Chris Ivory. While most of the blame falls on execution, the Jets could have been a bit more varied in terms of the gaps they attacked.

(Credit: CBS) Airbnb, the social service that provides an in-home alternative to hotels, is under fire from the New York Attorney General’s Office. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has subpoenaed data on all Airbnb users in New York who have offered to rent out their homes to customers. According to a person familiar with the investigation, Schneiderman’s effort stems from a New York state law signed in 2010 that places limits on residents’ ability to rent out their homes to others. Airbnb, which helps people rent out their houses or apartments for a period of time, said last week that it has 225,000 community members in New York. The Attorney General’s office has been investigating Airbnb for more than a month, a person familiar with the investigation told CNET. The investigation stemmed from complaints by lawmakers and housing advocates. Related stories Tampa is the nicest city in America, says Airbnb The crux of the issue appears to be so-called “bad actors” who find short-term rentals and run amok, according to a person familiar with the investigation. Some of those renters could be sidestepping paying taxes, the person indicated. In addition, the attorney general’s office wants to target those who are renting out multiple units in violation of state law or who are renting out their properties for longer than expressly allowed under the state’s tax laws, a person familiar with the investigation said. A person who is simply trying to rent out their units every now and then — a so-called “casual user” — will not be targeted in the investigation, according to the person. In its statement on the matter, Airbnb said that it agrees that “bad actors” are an issue, and indicated that it believes the attorney general’s office “is only seeking to target an incredibly small number of bad actors who abuse the Airbnb platform.” Despite that cooperation, Airbnb bristled a bit at the subpoena, indicating that the attorney general’s office wants access to all New York-based short-term renters on the company’s service, despite plans to go after those bad actors.

The measure of auto and student loans has risen 8.2 percent from a year ago and in every month but one since May 2010. But credit card debt is essentially where it was a year ago. And it is 16.9 percent below its peak hit in July 2008 seven months after the recession began. Associated Press Also in Business The regulator overseeing major mortgage finance sources Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Monday said it filed legal paperwork to create a common platform for the two firms to issue mortgage-backed securities. The Federal Housing Finance Agency said it established a new company called Common Securitization Solutions. The joint venture is intended to help securitize home loans and consolidate some of functions currently replicated by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Dallas Mavericks basketball team owner Mark Cuban testified at his insider trading trial Monday that he had said on multiple occasions that he intended to sell a stake in an Internet search firm before he learned the stake was about to lose value. Cuban, 55, estimated by Forbes magazine to have a net worth of $2.5 billion, is accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of trading on non-public information when he sold his 600,000 shares, worth $7.9 million and avoided a $750,000 loss in Internet search company Mamma.com in June 2004. General Motors is recalling 1,658 Chevrolet Sonic cars, as potentially faulty strap welds could cause the fuel tank to separate from the car. The recall of 2013 and 2014 model-year cars affects 1,558 cars in the United States and 100 in Canada, most of which are still on dealer lots, GM said. The No. 1 U.S. automaker said it knows of no accidents, fires or injuries related to the issue. Chevron won a request to have a judge rather than a jury decide its case over alleged fraud in an Ecuadorian pollution verdict. U.S.